Microwave modulation system



Oct. 3, 1961 H. A. BOMKE ETAL 3,003,125

MICROWAVE MODULATION SYSTEM Original Filed Sept. 23, 1957 ENCAPSULATED STABLE FREE' RADICAL CHEMICAL MATERIAL MICROWAVE (D'PHELNYL SOURCE P'CRY HYDRAZYLI IKLYSTRON 2 OSCILLATOR) AUDIO OR OTHER LF MODULATING SIGNAL SOURCE FIG. I

D MICROWAVE SOURCE AUDIO OR OTHER SOURCE 2 7 LF MODULATING SIGNAL SOURCE (KLYSTRON OSCILLATOR) RESONANT CAVITY l2 E LECTROMAGNET E AUDIO on omen L F C MODULATING SIGNAL SOURCE |3 IHIIIIIIII fENCAPSULATED STABLE FREE 4 RADICAL CHEMICAL MATERIAL APERTURE (DIPHENYL PICFIYL HYDRAZYL) INVENTORS, 4 HANS A. BOMKE BY GEORGE H. MINNERY JOHN w. OUNT ATTO RN EY.

Unite Stats Patent 3,003,125 MICROWAVE MODULATION SYSTEM Hans A. Bomke, Sea Girt, George H. Minnerly, Spring Lake, and John W. Mount, Long Branch, N.J., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Original application Sept. 23, 1957, Ser. No. 685,760, new Patent No. 2,951,214, dated Aug. 30, 1960. Divided and this application Aug. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 54,556

1 Claim. (Cl. 332-51) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment of any royalty thereon.

The invention relates to wave modulating systems and apparatus and particularly to such systems and apparatus especially adapted for use in high frequency transmission systems, for example, in a microwave communication system.

This application is a true division of application, Serial No. 685,760, filed September 23, 1957, now Patent No. 2,951,214, issued August 30, 1960.

A general object of the invention is to improve such modulation systems and apparatus from the standpoints of efliciency and economy.

A more specific object is to produce efficiently and economically the modulation of a high frequency carrier, such as a microwave, with signals comprising a wide band of low frequencies, such as speech or other signals in the audio or adjacent frequency ranges.

The invention is specifically directed to modulation systems or apparatus in which the modulating element includes a solid state chemical substance exhibiting an etfect due to free nuclear induction, known as nuclear spin or paramagnetic resonance absorption, when its atomic nuclei are subjected to a strong, unidirectional magnetic field.

The phenomenon of free nuclear induction per se is discussed in the US. patent to F. Bloch et al., No. 2,561,489, issued July 24, 1951, and its pertinent features are briefly described below. Nuclear induction is j a magnetic effect based on a combination of mechanical and magnetic properties inherent in each atomic nucleus of certain chemical substances. The mechanical property is that of spin about its axis of symmetry. As the nucleus has mass, it possesses angular momentum of spin and forms a gyroscope, infinitely small, having the normal mechanical properties of such a device. Also, each atomic nucleus has a magnetic moment directed along its gyroscope axis, and may be visualized as a minute bar magnet adapted to spin on its longitudinal axis. For a given chemical substance, a fixed ratio, termed the gyromagnetic ratio usually designated by the Greek letter exists between the magnetic moment of each nucleus and its angular momentum of spin.

A given sample of such a chemical substance contains a large number of gyroscopic nuclei, and the placing of the sample in a strong unidirectional magnetic field will result in its component atomic nuclei, under the influence of the field, aligning themselves so that their magnetic axes are parallel to that field. The alignment of the nuclear magnetic moments in the sample is a matter of chance some of them being aligned with and others against the field. Therefore, the eiiects of a number of the magnetic moments aligned in one direction will be effectively cancelled by those of an equivalent number aligned in the opposite direction, but usually there will be a preponderance of the magnetic moments aligned in one of the directions so that the sample due to the magnetic field will acquire a net magnetic moment M and a net angular momentum I which may be represented as the vector 3,003,125 Patented Oct. 3, 1981 direction in the usual gyroscopic manner. This precession will occur at a radian frequency where H, is the field strength affecting each nucleus. Since for any given type of nucleus, 7 is a constant, it is seen that the precessional frequency w which is termed the Larmor frequency, is a direct function of the field strength affecting that nucleus, and that if the field strength H differs in different parts of a sample the groups of nuclei in these parts will exhibit net magnetic moments precessing at difierent Larmor frequencies.

The book entitled Spectroscopy at Radio and Microwave Frequencies by D. J. E. Ingram, published by Butterworths Scientific Publications, London, England, in 1955, includes a fairly complete summary and analysis of the work which had been carried on by various groups of research workers prior to that date in the field of microwave absorption in both gaseous and solid state chemical substances, including paramagnetic resonance absorption in which the energy levels of the paramagnetic ions existing in the crystalline lattice were investigated. Paramagnetic ions were chosen for particular study by these workers because it is possible to vary their energy levels by the application thereto of an external magnetic field, and hence the splitting of the energy levels can be adjusted to cause absorption or" the particular microwave frequency being employed. This book gives a brief out line of the theory underlying spin paramagnetic resonance, portions of which are repeated below in order to clarify the dmcription of operation of the modulation systems of the invention utilizing this phenomenon.

As stated by Ingram, The very strong electric fields existing inside a crystalline lattice act on the energy levels of a free paramagnetic ion to remove most of their orbital degeneracy. In many cases, a single level, two-fold degenerate in electron spin is left as the ground state, with all the other levels about 10 CI'IL' 1 higher. As the splitting to these other levels is so large, only the ground state is populated at ordinary temperatures, and this may then be resolved into its two components by applying an external magnetic field. The separation between the two levels is then given by gBH, where (3 is the Bohr magneton, H is the value of the magnetic field and g is known as the spectroscopic splitting factor, and would be equal to 2.0 if the electron was completely free. If this splitting is now adjusted, by variation of the magnetic field strength, to be equal to the energy of a quantum of the microwave radiation, then the radiation will be absorbed and more spins extracted to the higher state. Hence, the condition for absorbing resonance becomes (where h is a universal constant known as Plancks constant and v is the frequency of the radiation). Generally speaking paramagnetic resonance can take place whenever there is an electron present in the system which has an unpaired spin. In any full, closed shell of electrons, the orbital and spin angular moments of the individual electrons will all cancel out to give a zero resulant and produce a diamagnetic substance, no electron being leftover with uncompensated momentum.

Paramagnetic resonance in free radicals is due to the odd unpaired electrons which are associated with these particular structures. Unlike the normal uncompensated electrons of paramagnetic ions, these free radicals are associated with the valence electrons andamodification of.

the normal chemical binding. Nuclear paramagnetic resonance is closely analogous to electron magnetic resonance as in both cases, thesplitting of the energy. levels is produced by the orientation of the'magnetic momentsin an applied magnetic field; and the magnitude of the splitting is proportional to the strength of the applied field.

In both cases also, the absorption lines are usually ob;

tained by keeping the frequency of the radiation constant and varying the strength of the magnetic field. The condition. for resonance in the nuclear case, therefore, 15

similar to that of Equation 2 for electron resonance, ex-

cept that the electronic magnetic moment and g-value are replaced by the corresponding nuclear coefficients.

where g is the nuclear g-, factor and 5 is the nuclear magneton. Since the latter is about two thousand times smaller than the Bohr magneton, and the g of the proton very close to that of free electron spin, and hence signals of strong intensity can be obtained from small amounts of these substances (e.g. diphenyl picryl hydrazyl gives an easily detectable signal from a tenth of a microgram of the substance in a simple crystal-video spectroscope). Detailed reports onthe work of these research workers in connection with paramagnetic spin? resonance absorption on the above-mentioned and other free radical chemical compounds is found in the literature, for example, in articles by Holden, Kittel, Merritt and Yager [Phys Rev. 75 (1949), 1614 and 77 (1950), 1'48]; Townes and Turkevitch [Phys Rev. 77 (1950), 148]; Kiruchi and Cohen. [Phys Rev. 93 1954), 34]; Singer and Spencer [Jour. Chem. Phys. 21 (1953), 19391; and Garsten, Singer and Ryan [Phys. Rev. 96 (1954), 53].

The spin resonance absorption properties of such paramagnetic free radical types of chemical compounds. have been used heretofore to provide elficient energy translation characteristics other than modulation tornicrowaves. For example, one prior art patent (Dicke 2,762,871) discloses that a paramagnetic organic free radical solid material, such as alpha-alpha-diphenyl-hydrazine, when subjected to a unidirectional magnetic field having a flux density of about 3000 gauss will exhibit resonance at a frequency of the order of cycles per second and will operate as. an efiicient amplifier of microwave energy impressed on the material through a waveguide. Also, an article in a publication (Electronic Equipment of March 1955,'page 10) statesthat an efficient solid-state microwave oscillator has been developed,

which utilizes the electron spin. resonant eifect of a single crystal of solid-state material comprising one of-a group of ionically-bound organic salts, for example, gadoav linium ethyl sulphate, when subjected to a unidirectional magnetic field of suitable strength.

The applicants have found that very efficient modulation of a high frequency carrier, such as a microwave, with signals comprising a wide band of low frequencies, such as speech or other signals in the audio and adjacent low frequency ranges, can be obtained by a modulation device including in the modulating element a small quantityof a stablefree radical type of chemical compound, such as diphenyl picryl hydrazyl, having an atomic reso nance spectrum including a strong sharp resonance ab, sorption line at a particular wavelength. In one embodi m. a small quantity of the material diphenylpicryL hydrazyl, is encapsulated in a dielectric, and the entire encapsulated structureis disposedtransversely across. the. interior of a non-resonant waveguide structure propagating the microwave or other high frequency carrier wave to be modulated. An initially constant D.-C. magnetic field of predetermined value is applied across. this encapsu lated free radicalrnaterial by a permanent magnet or an electromagnet supplied with direct current, in a direction at right angles to the direction of propagation of the microwave or other high frequency carrier wave over the waveguide. The strength of the D.-C. magnetic field'is. critical, it being made of such value as to bring the free radical compound to resonance due to spin paramagnetic resonance absorption at a prescribed frequency which is determined by the characteristics of the free radical compound used and the order of strengthof the applied D.-C. magnetic field. A sinusoidally alternating magnetic field produced byvarying amplitude signalsconsisting of a wide band of low frequency components, such as speech or other signals in the audio or adjacent frequency ranges, to be modulated on the microwave carrier, is superposed on the D.-C. magnetic field by means of Helmholtz coils or other suitable electromagnet disposed with the varying instantaneous amplitudes of the applied;

sinusoidal modulation voltage to affect the spin velocity of the atomic nuclei in the paramagnetic free radical chemical material (DPPH) in such manner that the microwave carrier propagated over the waveguide and im pressed on the encapsulated structure will be modulated therein with the low frequencysignals.

In another embodimentof the invention, the encapsu: lated structure containing the stable free radical material, such as diphenyl picryl hydrazyl, is disposed transversely across the interior of a tuned resonant cavity in the waveguide propagating the microwave carrier energy, in which case the critical frequency for bringing the encapsulated material to resonance is mainly determined by theparam. eters, of the resonant cavity used at the prescribed free quency. A feature of this embodiment is the use in the;

resonant cavity of A.-Q. short-circuiting means, such as for reflecting the produced signal-modulated microwave carrier back thr ough the cavity and the associated waveguide structure to an antenna. This antenna radiates the received wave to a receiving point where acrystal or other ordinary detector maybe used for demodulatingthe speech, audio or other low frequency signals from the microwave'carrier in well known manner.

The advantages of the modulationsystems of the invention as briefly described above are that they overcome some of the defects of the prior art microwave modulation systems, and witha relatively simple and economical device provide an ease, rapidity. and fidelity of modulation which is equal to that of other much more comp a't si icr a c ulatioa s t n h P o and which is substantially noise free.

The various objects and features of the invention will company r w n in w h;

FIQUREI is aperspective view of oneembodiment of the modulation system of the invention, in which the encapsulated stable, free radical chemical material operating as the modulating element is inserted across the interior of a non-resonant waveguidestructure propagating the microwave energy utilized as the carrier wave;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the modulation system of the invention, in which the encapsulated stable free radical chemical material operating as the modulating element, is disposed across the interior of a resonant cavity fed from a waveguide structure. propagating the microwave carrier. In this figure, a portion of the structure of the electromagnet utilized for applying the D.-C. magnetic field to this material is broken away to show more clearly one of the modulating coils used, the position of the encapsulated material in the resonant cavity and other details of the cavity including an end wall for reflecting the signal-modulated microwave carrier back through the waveguide structure to an associated horn antenna which will radiate it to a waveguide receiving system including a detector for dem'odulating the signals from the carrier;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the embodiment of FIGURE 2, showing the two modulating coils of the electromagnet, mounted on the core structure thereof, and the encapsulated free radical material inserted in the resonant cavity and disposed so that it extends through an air-gap in one leg of the core structure; and

FIGURE 4 shows an exploded view of a portion of the embodiment of FIGURE 2, partially broken away, illustrating how the encapsulated free radical material, the tuned resonant cavity including the aperture plate and the reflecting end plate, and the associated waveguide line are assembled in the system.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 1, a non-resonant section 1 of hollow pipe waveguide of rectangular cross section of any desired dimensions (say, 1" x /2"), is utilized for propagating the microwave energy supplied to that.

guide near one end thereof from a microwave source 2, which may be, for example, a klystron oscillator, in any suitable manner, longitudinally over that guide towards the horn type radiating antenna 3.

A small amount of a stable free radical type of paramagnetic chemical compound, such as diphenyl picryl hydrazyl, is encapsulated with a dielectric material suitable as a hinder (the dielectric constant of which is not critical) in a container made from any material, such as glass, which is transparent to microwave energy, to provide an encapsulated structure 4 of any desired shape, such as cylindrical, this structure being used as the modulating element of the system. Alternatively, the container may be eliminated and the stable free radical chemical compound and the dielectric binding material may be briquetted into the desired shape.

The entire encapsulated structure 4 is mounted in any suitable manner so that it extends transversely across the interior of the waveguide 1 at a centrally located point, in a direction perpendicular to the long side of its rectangular cross-section, at some point in that guide intermediate the point of connection thereto of the microwave source 2 and the horn type antenna 3. A unidirectional magnetic field is impressed on the free radical chemical material in the structure 4 in a direction perpendicular to the propagation direction of the microwave energy in waveguide 1, by any convenient means, for example, as shown by an electromagnet E. The electromagnet E, as illustrated, may include a magnetic core structure 5 of horseshoe shape partially surrounding the waveguide 1, made from a magnetizable material, such as iron, and having two vertical core legs one of which has an air-gap therein and the other of which is solid and has a magnet coil 6 wound thereon. The magnet coil 6 is supplied with direct current from a variable source 7 which may comprise a direct current battery 8 and an associated potentiometer 9, as shown. The waveguide 1 extends longitudinally through the air-gap in one leg of the core 5 of the electromagnet E, which is so positioned along the guide that the encapsulated structure 4 extending across the interior of the guide is disposed vertically between the pole pieces on opposite sides of the air-gap in one vertical leg of core structure 5. Two other magnet coils 10 and 11, serving as modulating coils, respectively wound on the portions of the vertical leg of the core 5, directly above and below the pole pieces on opposite sides of the air-gap in that leg, are connected in series across a source of sinusoidally alternating signals comprising a band of low frequencies, to be modulated on the microwave carrier.

The magnet coil 6 wound on the solid leg of the core structure 5 of electromagnet E is proportioned, and the elements of the associated direct circuit source 7 are selected and adjusted, so that the strength of the unidirectional (D.-C.) magnetic field applied to the structure 4 is such as to bring the free radical material therein to resonance at a frequency determined by the characteristics of this 'material and the order of the applied D.-C. field. Alternatively, a suitably designed permanent magnet may be utilized in place of the electromagnet Evand associated D.-C. source 7, for producing the unidirectional magnetic field of the proper strength, applied to the encapsulated free radical material.

The varying amplitude modulating signals applied to the modulating coils 10 and 11 may comprise a wide band of low frequencies in the order of 10 c.p.s. to 15 kc. or'

more, such as would be provided by speech or other signals in the audio and adjacent frequency ranges. The

, sinusoidal alternating magnetic field superimposed by the modulating coils 1t and 11 on the initially constant D.-C. magnetic field will'cause that field to be slightly modified in accordance with the instantaneous amplitude "values of the modulating signals. This will correspondingly affect the spin velocity of the atomic nuclei of the paramagnetic free radical chemical material in the structure 4 so that the microwave impressed on that structure will be modulated therein with these signals. Tests made by the applicants on the embodiment of FIG. 1 in which the free radical material used in the structure 4 was diphenyl picryl hydrazyl, showed that the resulting modulation of the microwave carrier under optimum conditions was nearly percent of full modulation.

The signal-modulated microwave carrier thus produced in the output of the encapsulated structure 4 will pass out over the waveguide 1 to the horn antenna 3 which will radiate it to a receiving station (not shown) where the low frequency audio modulating signal may be demodulated from the microwave carrier by means of a crystal or other conventional .type of detector in Well known manner.

The second embodiment of the modulation system of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, diifers essentially from that of FIG. 1 in that the encapsulated structure 4 containing a small amount of stable free radical type of paramagnetic chemical compound, such as diphenyl picryl hydrazyl, is mounted within a resonant cavity 12 fed with the microwave carrier from the source 2. through the section 1 of rectangular waveguide, instead of in a non-resonant waveguide structure. The resonant cavity 12, as shown, may be of rectangular crosssection, including at the one end a solid end plate 16 and at the other end an aperture plate 14 containing a centrally-located circular aperture 15, the two plates being separated by the distance d. The aperture 15 in plate 14 electrically couples the interior of the resonant cavity 12 with the interior of the waveguide section 1 allowing the microwave energy propagated over the latter to be transmitted into the cavity. The encapsulated structure 4 containing the free radical paramagnetic chemical compound extends across the interior of the cavity 12 at an intermediate point along its length in a direction perpendicular to the long side of the rectangular cross-section of the cavity. An initially constant D.-C. magnetic field is applied to the structure 4 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the microwave energy through the cavity 12, by an electromagnet E including a magnetic core portion 5 partially surrounding the cavity and a magnet coil 6 wound on the solid vertical leg of the magnetic structure and supplied with direct current of the proper value from an associated direct circuit source 7, similar to the elements so designated in the embodiment of FIG. 1. However, the source of modulating signals comprising speech, audio or other low frequency signals to be modulated on the microwave carrier, in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 4 is supplied across two coils mn n c yity'llg s r i ne edw th n he i p f. e

core, s ofthat therencapslllai dr,structure 4 extends across; e; nt ri r of hat, cavityyat. at point et enthe wov erfi e p ces. a aw maree ea ly n HQ ren th of he. eenstant pid r e ena m net c, el

pt lieillathe true ure 0 n. biemanner n theembedin ent rFiq. 2, whichwas eus tuctedu ested, was.

made pprox mat ly ZQOQV ZsSJ n' I eI to bring e-- stable free radical material (diphenylpicryl hydrazyl) in.

hat st uet re, to, resonance a a r qu n o pp mately, 9062; megacycles. mainly determined by the parameters of the resonant cavity 12 Ina particular modeLof the embodiment of FI wh ch was, Construc ed; nd. e t d, the nant avi y .1 1 wasmade. fr m l rec ns a i v u d and thedistance d between the end plate-13 and the aperur -P ate tw a pp le i ma e y t8 1. herre s nant queney an e al lat d fr m h orm a signals comprising a wide band of low frequencies such as speech or other signals-in the audio andadjacent frequency ranges, is similar to thatofthe similarlydesignated structure in thesystem, of FIG. 1 asdescribed above. The, signal-modulated, microwave energy appearing in the output of the structure 4 Willbe reflected from the end wall 13 of the resonant cavity 12 back through that cavity and the associated-waveguide section 1- to the horn antennah3 v which will radiate it out to a receiver station 2h shown, in. which the. modulating signals will be. de-.

modulatedfrom the: microwave carrier by a crystal or other convention al detector therein.

This. resonant frequency. is

Although the particular free radical paramagnetic chemicalcompound used in the encapsulated structured in the embodiments of the invention illustrated i i-FIGS, 1 m4 and r ed above a d p nylp e yl ydrazyh,

. which compound prepared in the usual manner is sufl'rent y table. fo us a a ulat the p masust e. chemical materials such as tri-p-biphenylamin fl di-p nhyl m ne, ou e suitable, hs f aweprepared in such manner as to make them sufficiently stable, Qther modifications of themodulation systems illustrated in the drawing and described above which are within the spirit and scope of the invention will occur ito persons skilled in the art.

Whatisclaimed is:

A systern for etiiciently modulating a microwave carrier with varying amplitude, low frequency signals, consisting of a wide band of audio frequency components, comprising: a non-resonant, hollow pipe wayeguideover which said microwave carrier is propagatedlongitudinally; a modulating element including a small aniount ofi the: stable free radical paramagnetic chemical compound, diphenyl picryl hydrazyl, and a dielectric binding material encapsulated to form a unitary structure of adesired shape, the entire encapsulated structure being mounted so that it extends transversely across the. interior of. said waveguide in the path of the propagated rnicrowave carrier, said stable compound having an atomic resonance spectrum including astrong, sharp resonance absorption line at a particular frequency; means to apply an initially constant, unidirectional magnetic field to said structure due direction perpendicular to thepropagation direction ofthe microwave carrier and of a strength such as to bring said cornpound to resonance at said particular frequency which is determined by the characteristics of tha t 1 compound and the order of strength of the unidirectional magnetic field; and means to superimpose a sinusoidally alternating magnetic field varying in accordance with the amplitude of said low frequency signals. on the unidirec tional field to proportionately vary the latter field and thus to modulate the amplitude of said microwave carrier in accordance with the instantaneous amplitudes of said, signals, due to the effects thereby produced on the, spin velocity of the atomic nuclei in said diphenyl picrylby? drazyl free radical paramagnetic compound.

No references cited. 

